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Oscar Lindberg Signs In Switzerland

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In the early days of the Vegas Golden Knights, one of the things that made the team so competitive is the strong number of depth players they had moving in and out of the bottom of the lineup. One of those names was Oscar Lindberg, a regular in the first year who was eventually pushed out as the group got more top-heavy.

After being part of the package that went to the Ottawa Senators for Mark Stone, Lindberg took his talents overseas in 2019. That’s where he will remain, as he has signed a new two-year contract with SC Bern in the Swiss NL.

Now 30, Lindberg was a very capable bottom-six option for the Golden Knights and Senators, but also for the New York Rangers before that. In fact, he was the pick from New York over names like Jesper Fast and Antti Raanta, as he had just played two full seasons for the Rangers, scoring relatively well in a limited checking role.

When he went to Europe, Lindberg had some immediate success. His spent last season with Dynamo Moscow in the KHL, scoring 25 points in 24 games. There’s a good chance he at least could have sniffed another NHL deal had the desire been there but the versatile forward will now play in Switzerland for the next two seasons.

The team also announced that the contract for Cory Conacher has been terminated. The 32-year-old is now a free agent.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Elmer Soderblom

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7:38 pm: CapFriendly has announced the terms of the deal, which carries a cap hit of $878,333:

2022-23: $750,000 base + $92,500 signing bonus + $82,500 performance bonus
2023-24: $775,000 base + $92,500 signing bonus + $57,500 performance bonus
2024-25: $832,500 base + $92,500 signing bonus

The contract carries a minor salary of $70,000 in all three seasons.

1:12 pm: The Detroit Red Wings have signed another interesting Swedish prospect, this time inking Elmer Soderblom to a three-year entry-level contract. The sixth-round pick is coming off a breakout season with Frolunda of the SHL.

It’s hard to focus on anything other than the size of Soderblom, given his 6’8″ frame. The massive forward is finally starting to find his way offensively though, leading to a very interesting package of size and skill. In 52 games this season he registered 21 goals, good enough to tie him for seventh in league scoring. If he can continue the same development trajectory, the Red Wings might have found a late-round steal that can actually contribute to their lineup down the road.

They certainly would have gotten a good look. Soderblom has played with top prospect Simon Edvinsson on Frolunda going back to their junior days, meaning the Red Wings have seen his progression first hand while watching their prized draft pick recently. Signing him now will get him into the organization, and since his contract has expired in Sweden, it could actually mean he’ll be joining the Grand Rapids Griffins next season.

Even if he goes back for another year, the 20-year-old Soderblom is a player to watch for Detroit fans and one that has a massive ceiling if he can continue to marry size and skill as he did this year. His entry-level deal will kick in no matter where he plays, making him an RFA in the summer of 2025.

Toronto Maple Leafs Part Ways With Steve Briere

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It seems the chaotic season in the crease that was for the Toronto Maple Leafs has met a resolution. Sportsnet reports that the team is parting ways with long-time goalie coach Steve Briere, whose contract was set to expire this offseason.

The Maple Leafs brought Briere into the organization for the 2015-16 season as an unknown. Briere had spent the previous five seasons as the goalie coach for the Topeka Roadrunners in the NAHL, the second-most competitive American junior league. He’s proceeded to serve as Toronto’s goalie coach for seven consecutive seasons, but he won’t be back for an eighth.

Across the board, Maple Leafs goalies struggled this season outside of Jack Campbell, who was injured for a good portion of the regular season. Backup Petr Mrazek battled multiple injuries as well, but even when in the lineup, posted just a .888 save percentage, which was the first time he’d posted a sub-.900 save percentage in a season at the NHL level. Now, whether or not Briere’s coaching or Mrazek’s health was to blame for that performance is up for debate, but the team still felt like a change was necessary to get the most out of their netminders moving forward.

Toronto’s goaltending situation is incredibly murky next season, though, and adding a new goalie coach into the mix will heed a complete refresh in the crease. Campbell is an unrestricted free agent and it’s unclear whether the team will have the cap space necessary to retain his service, and they’ll certainly try to trade Mrazek and his $3.8MM cap hit. One of Erik Kallgren or Joseph Woll is sure to get a shot at a full-time NHL role to help keep the team’s cap hit down, and the team will need to select their next goalie coach carefully as to not put a wrench into their development.

Seattle Kraken Sign Ville Petman

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The Seattle Kraken continue to add to their prospect pool via the acquisition of undrafted free agents. Today, the team announced the signing of 22-year-old Finnish forward Ville Petman to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $791,250.

The 22-year-old prospect is a versatile forward who can play either center or wing. Petman won gold at the 2018 IIHF Under-18 World Juniors, scoring five points in seven games. Standing 5’10” and 181 pounds, he took a gigantic step forward in production this season in the Liiga, scoring 15 goals, 24 assists, and 39 points in 59 games with SaiPa. His previous high in points in the top Finnish league was eight.

It’s that gigantic progression that Seattle hopes propels him to North America and into an NHL role in the future. Petman actually led SaiPa in scoring this season by 10 points, highlighting himself on a team that includes barely any players with an NHL connection. It’s unclear whether or not the contract has a European Assignment Clause, so whether Petman plays with the expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL or is loaned back to Finland is unknown at this point.

Petman’s deal will expire in 2024, making him a restricted free agent that offseason.

Coaching Notes: Blashill, Hiller, Savard

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Entering this season, the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind future Hall-of-Famer Jon Cooper was Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill. After just one playoff appearance (in his first year as coach), though, the rebuilding squad finally decided to move on as they try and begin their rise back toward contention. That makes the 48-year-old Blashill an experienced option on the open market, as he’s been in coaching roles since 1998 and coaching professionally since joining the Detroit organization in 2011. While he doesn’t have the shiniest resume, some of that can be attributed to the poor roster he was given in Detroit.

With a change potentially on the horizon in the Sunshine State behind the bench of the Florida Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he’s heard a connection between the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners and Blashill. It’s unclear at this point whether the Panthers will retain interim head coach Andrew Brunette, who was a nominee for the Jack Adams Award this past season after guiding Florida to a 122-point season. It would be a puzzling choice from the Panthers to move on from Brunette for someone like Blashill who hasn’t made any notable achievements at the NHL level, undoubtedly.

  • After getting fired by the New York Islanders today, Jim Hiller is on the radar of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings (among other clubs) for their head coaching vacancies, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It would be a return to the Red Wings organization for Hiller, who got his first NHL job there as an assistant in 2014-15 after five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He’s been with the Islanders since 2019-20 and has overseen their two back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021.
  • The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf today downplayed the link between the Dallas Stars and Marc Savard for their open spot behind the bench. While Yousuf didn’t rule out Savard as a candidate in the team’s search, he says that nothing from the team has indicated him as a frontrunner.

Minor Transactions: 06/09/22

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Only three teams remain in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which means that the rest of the league (and their development affiliates in the AHL) are focused on preparing their rosters for next season. There’s been a lot of movement on the AHL front today, and those transactions will be tracked here.

  • The Hartford Wolf Pack announced today that the team’s agreed to terms with forward Cristiano DiGiacinto on a one-year AHL contract. The 1996-born Canadian forward is a former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, but the team let his exclusive signing rights expire after they selected him in the sixth round in 2014. After a four-year junior career with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and a four-year collegiate career in Canada with Acadia University, DiGiacinto turned pro last season with Hartford and notched six goals, seven assists, and 13 points in 47 games. The 26-year-old will look to turn out an increase in numbers next season to potentially earn an NHL contract from Hartford’s parent club, the New York Rangers.
  • Forward Riley McKay and defenseman Cliff Watson are returning to the Rockford IceHogs on one-year AHL contracts, while the team also added goalie Mitchell Weeks on a two-year AHL deal. The 23-year-old McKay spent the majority of the 2021-22 season with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel but did earn a callup to four AHL games with Rockford. The 6’0″, 203-pound enforcer tallied up nearly 200 penalty minutes in those ECHL games and will reprise a similar role in the organization. Watson, now a professional veteran, was the captain of the Fuel last season but earned a 20-game AHL callup, notching four assists. The 2001-born Weeks went undrafted after a pair of mediocre seasons with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves but impressed in a brief professional appearance last season, putting up a .923 save percentage in three playoff games with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. He’ll try and continue that upward trajectory in Rockford.
  • Evan Fitzpatrick is staying in the Florida Panthers organization after the team signed him to a one-year AHL contract. Coming from the Charlotte Checkers, Fitzpatrick signed an NHL deal with Florida last season with the team having too few goalies under NHL contract. The former second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues will look to lock down a solid AHL role after being demoted to the ECHL with the crease in Charlotte too crowded in 2021-22.

New York Islanders Fire John Gruden, Jim Hiller

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The New York Islanders have continued to change their coaching staff, this time relieving assistants John Gruden and Jim Hiller of their duties. That leaves the full run of assistant roles open after Lane Lambert was promoted to head coach, taking the spot of the dismissed Barry Trotz. No replacements have been named at this point.

Gruden, 52, had been with the Islanders since 2018, following stints as the head coach of both the Flint Firebirds and Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL. He was also part of the USNTDP for several years, and has plenty of experience developing young players. Notably, he’s also the father of Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Jonathan Gruden, who played had 27 points for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season and is heading into the final year of his entry-level contract.

Hiller, meanwhile, spent three seasons with the Islanders following stints with both the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He too was a CHL head coach before that, leading the Tri-City Americans for five seasons and the Chilliwack Bruins before that.

With these moves, the Islanders will have quite a few new voices behind the bench next season to support Lambert as he makes the transition from associate to head coach. The team did not list director of goaltending Mitch Korn–a long-time collaborator with Trotz–nor goaltending coach Piero Greco as part of the changes and still have them on the official website.

Ilya Konovalov Clears Unconditional Waivers

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June 9: Konovalov has cleared waivers according to CapFriendly and has had his contract terminated. He is now an unrestricted free agent.

June 8: The Edmonton Oilers still need to figure out their goaltending for next season but you can rule out at least one player. Ilya Konovalov has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. He had one year left on his entry-level contract.

Mark Spector of Sportsnet tweets that Konovalov is headed back to the KHL.

Originally selected 85th overall in 2019, it’s sort of a surprising move for the young netminder after just one season in North America. A contract termination will make him an unrestricted free agent, whereas had the Oilers not signed him, they would have held his draft rights indefinitely.

At just 23 years old, there’s still lots of upside for Konovalov, despite his struggles with the Bakersfield Condors this season. He posted an .893 save percentage in 17 appearances, winning just five times.

Even if he is heading back to Russia, this may not be the end of Konovalov’s story when it comes to North America. He is still young enough to continue his development overseas before attracting some attention down the road.

Colorado Hoping Kadri, Cogliano Will Return During Stanley Cup Final

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The Colorado Avalanche could have to wait nearly two weeks to resume their postseason run, after defeating the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. The Stanley Cup Final is expected to start on either June 15 or 18 and with the Tampa Bay Lightning pulling even with the New York Rangers, the latter seems more likely at this point.

Outside of the normal rest versus rust debate, you probably won’t hear the Avalanche complaining very much. The team is hoping that both Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano will be able to return at some point during the Final, after both underwent a similar surgery. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that Kadri was back in the gym today, doing “everything he can” to get back in time.

The 31-year-old Kadri was having a strong playoff run with 14 points in 13 games before suffering a broken thumb against the Oilers, on a play that resulted in a suspension for Evander Kane. The pending free agent Avalanche forward has been on a tear all season, setting a career-high with 87 points during the regular season and generally playing the best hockey of his life. It has set him up for a huge summer, where he could be looking at a massive raise on the $4.5MM cap hit he has carried since 2016.

A return just in time to play for the Stanley Cup would only help Kadri’s legacy in Colorado if he does end up leaving the team at the end of the year. Cogliano would also be a bonus, though the trade deadline addition doesn’t have quite the same impact as his teammate. The 34-year-old is averaging just over nine minutes a game in the playoffs, though both of his goals have been game-winners.

For the goaltending discussion, Bednar wouldn’t give anything up, saying it is a tough decision between Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz.

Nashville Predators Sign Markus Nurmi

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The Nashville Predators have signed forward Markus Nurmi to an entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry an NHL cap hit of $842.5K. Originally selected by the Ottawa Senators in 2016, Nurmi never signed with the team and became an unrestricted free agent when his draft rights expired in 2020. Because of his age, he will be limited to a one-year contract. CapFriendly notes that the contract has a base salary of $750,000, a $92,500 signing bonus, and $82,500 performance bonus with $70,000 in minor salary.

Drafted 163rd overall back then, Nurmi is a very interesting prospect six years later. The offense has finally emerged for the 6’4″ forward, and he scored 20 goals and 39 points in 56 games for TPS in the top Finnish league this season. Even that production was surpassed by his playoff output when he racked up 19 points in 18 games, leading the entire league.

Given that he is still just 23 (24 in June), and has a perfect blend of size, skill, and offensive production, it’s no surprise that he’s found an opportunity in North America. Whether he can keep up with the speed and physicality of the NHL game and become more than just a depth option is another story entirely, and a challenge that many players have failed at over the years.

At worst though, this is a waste of a contract slot for a year, and the Predators move on after it expires. At best, they’ve added an NHL option off the free agent market that will still be a restricted free agent and under team control next summer.

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